1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of high-speed data transfer, and more specifically to managing cross connect matrices within a data transfer architecture.
2. Description of the Related Art
Current high-speed high bandwidth data communication systems employ a variety of components to facilitate the receipt and transmission of data packets. Among the components used are network nodes, which may include functional components such as framers and cross-connects between components that allow data transport over at least one channel. A framer is a device that handles the overhead processing and statistics for the SONET/SDH connection and provides a method of distinguishing digital channels multiplexed together. The framer designates or marks channels within a bit stream, providing the basic time slot structure, management, and fault isolation for the network node. The cross connect allows portions of a digital bit stream to be rerouted or connected to different bit streams. Cross connects enable data traffic to be moved from one SONET ring to the next ring in its path to the destination node.
Typically, these high-speed high bandwidth data communication systems are realized by interconnecting a large number of network nodes to receive and transmit ever-increasing amounts of data. When interconnecting such nodes using cross connects, the traffic may be groomed, protection switching applied, and bridging and routing of data employed. Grooming is the ability to break up incoming data frames into lower bandwidth components, followed by switching the lower bandwidth components between incoming frames to form output frames. Protection switching is the ability to switch between components when a failure is encountered, such as a component failure. Bridging differs from routing in that bridging creates a connection between components, while routing directs data from one component to another where a bridge may or may not be present.
Traffic for transport networks can be carried in high-order (HO) or low-order (LO) containers, two standards specified in the SONET/SDH architecture. Network nodes may employ connection matrices to address HO and LO traffic separated by the LO pointer and overhead processors. The connection matrix is a matrix establishing all connections between all points in the relevant portion or entirety of the network.
In a distributed implementation where each connection matrix is implemented using several devices, the large amount of bandwidth at each level of the cascaded matrix mandates the use of multiple interconnects. Use of cascaded matrices in a distributed system requires N sets of interconnects, where N is the number of cascaded connection matrices. Cascaded matrices or cascaded connection matrices are a series of portions of a connection matrix, such as columns, that establish the connections between one component and another component in the network.
The problem encountered using connection matrices is that of distribution. Connection matrices and cascaded connection matrices may be distributed throughout the network, and may be updated in certain components while not updated in others. This wide distribution of connection matrices causes routing congestion on the device, can require increased component size, thus taking up more space or real estate on the board, and can ultimately require more power to support the required functionality of the network.
A design that provides for and uses an efficiently ordered set of connection matrices and/or cascaded connection matrices may provide increased throughput and other advantageous qualities over previously known designs, including designs employing the SONET/SDH architecture.